Band:	Saturndust
Album:	RLC
Style:	Doom metal
Release date:	April 17, 2017
A review by:	Auntie Sahar

01. Negative-Parallel Dimensional
02. Astral Dominion
03. RLC
04. Titan
05. Time Lapse Of Existence
06. Saturn 12.c

When you sit back and think about it, there really are quite a lot of ways that you can die in space. You could, for example, have your ship's radar malfunction and fly straight into an asteroid field. A solar flare from a nearby star could wipe out your electronics, leaving you stranded and slowly starving to death. And there are always those pesky Xenomorphs to worry about as well. Truly, it's a realm where you have a high likelihood of meeting your doom. Doom like Saturndust.

If your ears were open and tuned in on the inner workings of the metal underground, you may have caught the debut of this hypnotic Brazilian trio back in 2015. For Saturndust, this year's follow up, RLC, is no less than a successful capitalization upon their previous effort. Here listeners are treated to a very crunchy, hard-hitting brand of doom metal, complete with catchy, memorable riffs, very impressive drumming, and soaring, yelling type vocals that really serve to guide the music without seeming to overpower it. As one might assume from a band name like Saturndust (and one would be correct), this is further embellished by a delicious undertone of whoosing, atmospheric effects oozing of psychedelic and sci fi influences, that would make the likes of Isaac Asimov and Frank Herbert smile with joy.

The real selling point with RLC is the degree to which Saturndust make their music variate throughout the course of the album. The doom and the spacey, ambient effects are blended together extremely well, to the point that they sort of take turns boosting each other up. For example, you might get a heavy track like "Negative Parallel Dimensional," that's mostly doom with the ambient elements accentuating the mood, or you might get a more formless, atmospheric cut like the title track, where the opposite is the case. All the instrumentation falls into place with this wonderful sense of fusion and alternation. Sometimes the vocals soar while at other points they employ more of a quiet, whisper like approach. Sometimes the guitar gets in on the crunchy doom jammage while at other points it takes on a softer, more chord-based delivery. And likewise, the drumming ranges from throbbing and suspenseful one moment to hushed and restrained the next. It's a highly satisfying blend of techniques that proves Saturndust are anything but one dimensional with their composition.

With RLC, the only thing that could possibly be raised as an issue of complaint is the lack of forward development, a rehash of old ideas, perhaps. Considering what has come before it, RLC is essentially more of the same. But this is pretty insignificant and really nothing to complain about, considering how good Saturndust's recipe already is. The "if it aint broke, don't fix it" maxim most definitely applies to these young Brazilians, and their formula is anything but broke. Here's hoping they keep the ball a'rolling, and even if their sound doesn't change up much over future releases, I know I'll stay a devoted fan, because goddamn, does it just suck you right on in.

"In space no one can hear you scream"? Bullshit. The scream is right here, and it's called Saturndust.